Our History

We don't know the exact origin of our pub’s name, but we know it was previously called The Hog’s Lodge Inn. The road between Peterfield & Portsmouth was one of the first Turnpikes (Toll Road) in the country. Initial charges included "For every score of hogs - Five pence". The area around the Hog’s Lodge Inn, where a nearby lane is still called Thieves Lane, appears to have been important. The lane leads to a small copse called Ditch Acre Copse whose ditches were reputed to have been the hiding places for contraband. Could it have been that people used to hide their pigs here to reduce the charges paid on the Turnpike?

An alternative origin could be linked to Hampshire having been the habitat of wild boar for centuries, earning its residents the nickname of ‘Hampshire Hogs’, which may have inspired the new name of our pub when it was changed from The Hog’s Lodge Inn.